cyclist | father | husband | cook | eater

22 January 2011

One Man’s Definition of Friendship

I know I’m risking offending many, many people out there with this post. Please don’t take it personally if you consider me a friend and are left wondering if the feeling is mutual after reading this post. I can assure you, if we talk regularly, hang out when we can, and generally have a good time when we interact then I certainly like you – but you may not be one of my closest friends.

Friendship takes time. I have a lot of great friends, most of them I’ve known for more than half my life. There are very few people who I have met over the past twenty years who are truly my friends. Friendship requires trust. And this is where the element of time comes in. In order to be a good friend, I’ve got to trust you and you’ve got to trust me. I don’t trust many people too quickly. I’m skeptical. It takes time to build trust. My closest friends, are my most trusted friends and as a result are usually my oldest friends.

So, I suppose my definition of friendship predicated upon trust. Friendship is a bond of trust between two or more people and nothing less than that.

Truly she did! Interestingly, when we first met we both felt like we’d known each other for years almost instantly and expressed the same to each other one night over dinner. What we lacked in years of friendship we made up for in terms of a wealth of trust almost instantly.